Letter from India sparks anthrax alarm for Biden's brother

Miami:  The younger brother of US Vice President Joe Biden spent the night in hospital after opening a package from India that contained white powder initially feared to be anthrax, reports said today. Francis Biden, 57, told local media in southern Florida that his girlfriend Mindy had retrieved a large Manila envelope addressed to him from their roadside mailbox in Ocean Ridge at about noon yesterday. “She retrieved it, but I was the one who opened it,” Biden said, quoted by The Palm Beach Post. “It was mailed from India.” ( Read the Palm Beach Post report here.) [caption id=“attachment_97592” align=“alignright” width=“380” caption=“A white powder fell out of a letter from India addressed to Joe Biden’s brother, but it proved harmless. Reuters”]  [/caption] White powder fell out onto his skin as he opened the envelope and Biden immediately called the authorities, who evacuated his neighbours and closed off the street. Both Biden and his girlfriend were taken to a local hospital but she was released later in the day. “I was the only one who came in contact with the powder so they kept me,” said Biden, who was released this morning. According to The Palm Beach Post, the FBI says the powder appears to be harmless. Biden did not say whether anything else was in the envelope and referred further questions to the FBI. In late 2001, anthrax mailings rattled an already jittery American public just days after al-Qaeda militants hijacked passenger jets and plunged them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing almost 3,000 people. US government scientist Bruce Ivins committed suicide in July 2008 as FBI agents were about to bring charges against him over the anthrax campaign, which killed five people and injured 17. Some of the victims were in southern Florida. Agencies